WINTER 2018NEWS

Happy winter! Nothing beats the cold like a new book! There are lots of great new books coming in weekly, and we have challenged ourselves to read 550 books in 2018. (Last year we read 531.) How many do you plan to read?

You can start with some from our list of 2017 bestsellers below or from our winter staff picks. Or you might want to check out one of our Saturday Specials! Starting February 3rd and running for the month of February, three hand-selected titles will be 20% off on Saturdays only. As you can see, our website has a fresh new look and you can browse our favourite titles there. We also post information about all upcoming events and Novel Nights.

Our winter hours are now in effect and you can find them on our website.

Lastly, a big thank you to all of you who helped us raise funds for Youth Without Shelter. With the extreme cold this winter, Youth Without Shelter were beyond delighted to receive a cheque for $1455. We always knew book lovers were great, and now we know they are generous too!

STAFF PICKS

The Life and Times of Persimmon Wilson by Nancy Peacock, a gripping novel about an enslaved man turned Comanche warrior on a quest to find his lost love in the 19th-century American west. (Sarah)

A Hundred Small Lessons by Ashley Hay, a novel about an elderly woman who leaves her home and the new family who move in, and the unexpected ways in which their lives intersect. (Mary)

The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn, a twisty debut thriller about an agoraphobic woman who is convinced she has witnessed a crime across the street. (Diane)

Artemis by Andy Weir, the much-anticipated second novel by the author of The Martian, about a lunar colony and a woman hired to engineer a heist that gets her in more trouble than she ever expected. (Chris)

Women and Power by Mary Beard, a sweeping examination of the ancient roots of misogyny and how powerful women throughout history have worked to redefine power itself. (Katie)

The Dry by Jane Harper, a page-turner about an FBI agent who returns to his hometown for the first time in years for a funeral and finds himself in the middle of a long-buried mystery. (Susan)

Exit West by Mohsin Hamid, a novel about two lovers who escape civil war and emerge into an uncertain future with nothing but each other. (Helen)

The Lost Girls of Camp Forevermore by Kim Fu, a moving and ambitious novel about five girls who have a shocking experience at summer camp that changes their lives forever, even as they grow up and move on. Releases February 13. (Kathleen)

NOTABLE NON-FICTION

Niall Ferguson looks at how social networks have driven change from ancient Rome to the Renaissance to Facebook in The Square and the Tower.

In The Written World, Martin Puchner examines how stories shape our world, and how texts and the technology of printing have changed the course of history time and time again.

Pale Rider by Laura Spinney is the fascinating, heartbreaking story of how the Spanish Influenza of 1918 devastated the world.

FOR YOUNG READERS

The Whiz Mob and the Grenadine Kid by Colin Meloy, art by Carson Ellis, is a fast-paced middle-grade story about a gang of child pickpockets that Katie thoroughly enjoyed.

David Walliams is back with the hilarious Bad Dad, illustrated by Tony Ross, a novel about... well, a bad dad, and his adventures with his son.

Author Mac Barnett and illustrator Jon Klassen team up again for The Wolf, The Duck, and The Mouse, a picture book about a duck and a mouse who get swallowed by a wolf—and what happens to them after that.

The holidays are upon us! The store is full of amazing books for all the book lovers and readers on your holiday list. There are so many good ones this season we won't have enough room in this newsletter to tell you all about them. So please pop by and we'll help you find the perfect book for everyone on your list. We also offer free gift wrapping and gift certificates in any denomination!

To kick off the festive season, on December 8th and 9th, baked goodies from Sweet by Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh and The Redpath Canadian Bake Book will be available for sampling.

The cut-off date for special orders is December 14th! Please place your orders well before then to ensure delivery in time for Christmas.

We have a Trust Us pick for the holiday season! We can't tell you what book we picked, but we will tell you that this novel is a detail-rich work of historical fiction by an award-winning author and it's perfect for female readers.

We are also doing a holiday raffle for a Santa sack full of books. Raffle tickets are $5 each and all proceeds from raffle ticket sales will go toYouth Without Shelter. The winner's name will be drawn on Dec 21st. Please help us support a local charity in need at this time of the year.

A note on our holiday hours: We're open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Mondays to Fridays, 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays, and 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays.

We have special hours for the following dates:
December 18th, 19th, and 20th: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
December 21st and 22nd: 9:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
December 23rd: 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
December 24th: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

We will be closed Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve, and New Year's Day. In January, we will once again be closed on Sundays.

STAFF PICKS

Sarah: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

Diane: The Girl on the Bridge by James Hayman

Chris: A Reckoning by Linda Spalding

Mary: Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

Susan: Darktown by Thomas Mullen

Katie: The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne

Helen: In Case I Go by Angie Abdou

Kathleen: The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

plus these group picks:

The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

our Summer Pick Trust Us book (different from our Holiday Trust Us pick)